Essential Question

We Are Here: What does it mean to this immigrant group to be here in America?

Cultural Preservation: How does a person weave his or her traditional culture into a new American identity?

Words to look for

preserve

approach

Background Information

Somalis mostly belong to the Islamic religion, which has its own set of rules and practices its believers must follow. For example, Islam calls for women to wear the hijab, a style of head scarf that covers the entire head, for the sake of modesty.

Some Somali women in the U.S. have continued to wear the hijab and traditional flowing dresses, while others have not. Some compromise by wearing the headscarf with more American clothes, and others have given up the headscarf entirely and dress like mainstream Americans. Each woman has to decide for herself if the headscarf is part of her Somali identity.

To learn more about Somali history and culture, visit our Somali Community page.

Transcription

SY: What would you say is the most important thing that makes the Somali culture unique?

MD: The hijab, I think. [Laughter] What makes it unique?

SY: Yeah.

What about the hijab?

MD: Hijab is very important because it makes us different from other people. Hijab is a way of preserving your religion. Also, it’s a way of…

AW: Identity, maybe?

MD: Identity. Thank you. That’s the right word. Also, I think the hijab protects you. For me, the hijab is a protection. It protects me from a lot of things, like certain things. You don’t attract certain people. I think most people who see you are covered, they have more respect for you because they figure you're…I think you should be a religious person, but I think there’s a greater respect involved. People will not approach you like that. I think that’s unique to have, because then you don’t have to deal with every streetwalker, you know. It’s part of the culture.